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OF 



TOWN HALL IN RYE, N. H. 

Nov. 19, 1878. 






THE TOWN OF RYE. 



The following inloresling aketcli was prepared and read at tbf dedication of 
the new Town Hall at Kye, Nov. 19ib, 1873, by Rev. J. K. Aldkicii, of that town: 



History is made up of leading inci 
denls. rboiigh being made contnuaHy, 
it is marked byeias. Prominent events 
stand loiib as waynnrks, linking us with 
past generations, enabling us to trace the 
cciniicction lietwein us and that wbich 
h;is gone before. The town of Rye has 
an bunorable record. Within its present 
limits in all proliability was made ihe first 
settlement in New Ilainnshire. New 
llanipsbire was first visited by Martin 
ring in 1603, with two ships, the Speed- 
well and the Discoverer. "The exi'odi- 
tioii was Titled out und:-:f the palr^nage 
of the mayor, :ildermen and met chants of 
the litv of Bristol in England, to prose- 
cute the discoveiy of the nordiern parts 
of Virginia '' He with his followers as 
cended the Piscataq^a as far as the Great 
Bay wliicb is formed by the union of Bel- 
lamy liank. Oyster, Lasnprey, Squam- 
scott and VVinnicut river-*, andlies be- 
tween Di;ih;im and Grt enland They e.\- 
plored the forests in search of sas.-fras, 
which was highly valued at that tiine ior 
it> medicinal properties, and it is altogeth- 
er probable tiiat part of the town of Kye 
which bord' rs on the Piscataqua was 
pressed by their foot-teps. in iGOo a 
Fret'C'b ve.<isel is said to have touched at 
Odiorne's Point, wheie Champlain met a 
small company of Indians, to whom he 
made presens of knives. &c., and from 
thi-m obtained information of the coast. 
It wj'S ne.Kt visited by (.'apt. John Smith 
in 1614, who ascertained the I'iver Piscat- 
aqua to be a s;ife harbor with ii rock\ 
shore. On his return to England he pre- 
sented to the Prince of Wales, afterwards 
Charles I, a map of the set coast aling 
which he had s.iiled, si;c miles of which, 
one-third of t!.e coast line of the State, is 
included in the town of Kye. In the 
year 1606 King James granted a charter of 
Virginia, as tlie whole territory was then 
called, between the 34tb iincl 45tli de- 
grees of north latitude, to two companies, 
assigning the southern part to the Lo.'i- 



don Company, and the northern, including 
the present town of Kye, to the Plymouth, 
composed of personj residing in Bristol, 
E.xeter, and Plymouth. Ihe Plymouth 
Company finding lliemselves liable to be 
encroached upon, petitioned for a new 
charier and obtained it in 1620. Two 
of the most enterprising m' mbers of this 
company were Sir Feidinando Gorges 
and Capt. John Mason. In 1621 Capt. 
John Mason procured I'loni the company 
a grant of the land between river Naum- 
keag, now taleui, and the Meriimac, 
and extending back to the bead waters 
of e:u h. The next year, 1622, he and 
Gorges conjointly obtained a grant ot 
the territory extending from the Merri- 
mac to the Saga'tahock, (ihe Kennebec 
according to one authority, and the An- 
droscoggin according to others.) and 
back to the great Lakes and the river of 
Canada, the St. La^Mence. This territo- 
ry they called Laconia, and the same year 
lU22. formed the company of Laconia, and 
in the Spring of 16"23 they sent over Da- 
vid Thompson, a Scotchman, Edward and 
Wi Ham Hilton and others. Thompson 
with one division settled at Odiorne's' 
Point, or Little Harbor iis it was then 
called, and the Ililtons went eight miles 
further up the river and formed a settle- 
ment to which they gave the name of 
Northam, now Dover. It v\ill be seen 
fro -i this that the two settlements were 
formed ut about the same time, but in 
pdnt of priority the preference must be 
given to that at Little Harbor, as they 
all came over together and it was eight 
miles nearer the.r I'oint of embarkation. 
To the Town of li\e therefore belongs 
unquestionably the. hono-r ot the first set- 
tlement in New Hampshire. 'Ibese first 
settlers were sent from England bv the 
Company "To found a p'antation on 
Piscataqua river, to cultivate the vine ; 
discover mines ; carry on the fisheries, 
and trad J with the naiives". They are 
believed to have arrived in the month o 



May. The first house erected was called 
Mason Hall. Soon after they erected a 
Garrison House or Fort, ;ind salt works, 
and established a fishery. The site of the 
Manor House or Mason Hall does not 
appear to be positively known, but is 
'oelieved to have been erected on the 
iiighest point of laml on the north side 
of the iane whicli leads nearly to the 
iieach, from the opposite side of the road 
just before reai'hing the house of Mr. 
Charles S. Odiorne. The ;^arrison house 
was probably erected ab ut 20 or 30 rods 
from this house in a southeasterly direc- 
tion. A few rods to the west is the an 
eient burial ground, containing about 40 
graves. There each in his narrow cell 
forever laid, the rude forefathers of the 
hamlet sleep. The tradition is that they 
thought at first that Little Harbor, lying 
between Odiornt;\s Point and Newcastle, 
originally Great Island, was the main har- 
bor or mouth of t!ie Piscatiqui, and 
consequeritly formed the sett ement there, 
and that afterwards one <if the early set- 
tlers in chasing a wounded goosn which 
he had shot, ran round to the north side 
of Great Island, and discovered Great 
Harbor. The cackling of a flock of 
geese anciently, it is said, saved Home, 
and the pursuit of this one it seems if sve 
are to credit the tradition, led to an im- 
portant discovery. The inference is, 
that though not desirable to he a goose, 
it may be well to follow one. Thompson 
left the colony about one year after his 
arrival and removed to an island in Mas- 
sachusetts Bay. afterwards called by his 
own name. Alason received a new grant 
IVom the Plymouth comp:;ny to the mid 
die of the Piscataqaa, Nov. 7, 1G29, am! 
in 1031, eiiiht years afier the landing at 
Little Harbor, he sent over about 80 em- 
igrants to act as stewards, agents, work- 
men, and servants. Among these are the 
names of Francis Rand, William Seavey, 
VVilliam Berry, Thomas VValford, and 
William and Anthony Bi-acket, who 
were among the first settlers in that part 
of Rye which went originally by the name 
of 8andy Beach. Luring the year 1031 
asetilement was formed at Strawberry 
Bndt, now Portsmouth, and the Great 
House was built. Portsmouth was incor- 
porated by a charter in 1633. Ic i.iclud- 
od not only the territory within its pres- 
ent limits, bat Great Island, now New- 
castle, and that part of Rye which was 
called Little Harbor and Sandy Beach. 
At a town meeting held in I'ortsmouth in 
1033, a committee wa-< chosen to lay out 
the lands to the people of Sandy Beach, 
viz : Wm. Berry, Anthonv Bracket, 



Thomas Seavey, Francis Rand and James 
John»on. The territory gnnted to Ma- 
son & Gorges in which the town oi Rye 
is included, by request ofPortsmouth and 
Dover, and previous assignment of the 
proprietors, became .subject to Massachu- 
setts Oct. 9, 1641, and continued thu.s 
until Charles the IL ascended 
the throne. Then Robert Tuf on, the 
grandson of Capt. John Mason, who had 
succe ded him in the inheritance and had 
taken the name of Mason, sued for juris- 
dictioK under his former pa'ent, and a 
decision was mad ■ in his favor in 1075, 
but owing to the opposition of the inhab- 
itants he did not come into actual pos 
session. In 1680, agiinst the protests of 
the people both of Dover and Portsmouth, 
the king or lered New Hampshire to be- 
come a colony. Oct. 15, 1679, Great Isl- 
au'l, now Newcastle, was set off from 
Portsmouth and incorporated by Mass.. 
but the ne>:t year, 1680, when by order of 
the king N" II. became a sepaiate prov- 
ince, ic again became a part of Ports- 
mouth. 

The agent, of ;he Portsmouth colony in 
163 L was Capt. Walter Neale. At that 
time the two colonies at Little Harbor 
and Dover became separate, and were call- 
ed the lower and the upper plantations. 
Little Harbor received the name of Odi- 
orne's Point, from .lotin 'Jdiorne who oc- 
cupied this locality in 1G60; 43 acres were 
then owned hy him. He was a citizen of 
roitsiuouth in 1653, and as it was then a 
part of Portsmouth he prob ibly resided 
I here a' that time. He was the father of 
Joiham Odiorne. a promimMit man in the 
cohuiy, who died in 1748 at the age of 
73. When that part of Rye originally 
called Sandy Beach, aow Foss' Beach, was 
settled, is not known, some saying in 
1035, others in 1633. But as its earliest 
settleis are known to have come over to- 
gether in 1631, I think it altogether prob- 
able that it ma}' have been settled soon 
afier, perhaps in the same year. The 
Rev. Huntington Porter, in his New 
Year's sermon, states the first settler was 
John Berry : this evidently should have 
been Win. Berry, as Wm. Berry come 
over in 1031, and John Berry was Wm. 
[ietry's eldest son. Wm. Berry received 
a grant of land at Sandy Beach in 1652, 
but there is no mention oi" John's receiving 
any until 1600. It is probable that Wm. 
Berry and the others who came over from 
England with him settled at Sandy Beach 
at about the same time. Wm. Berry is 
spoken of as "of Sandy Beach and of Lit- 
tle Harbor," showing that he must have 
owned lands or resided in both places. — 



He must have dieil previous to 1669, as in 
Dec. 9th in that year, his widow Jane, 
then a^ed 50, married Nathaniel Dnke 
who was l)i>rn in 161'2, was at Hampton 
in 16;)3, and resided in Portsmouth from 
1656 to 1690. 

i he firsr. ileed ever given of land in- 
cluded within the limits of the town of 
R\e, was given by J ine Drake widow of 
Wm Berry, in 1609 to \Vm Seavy, Sen 
of house, la'id and marsh on South side 
of broiik that runs between land then 
owned by William Seavy and Thomas Sea- 
vey. It appears that VVilliam Seavy paid 
for this land before the death of Wm 
Berry, Imt failed to get a deed of it. 
From this we inter that Win Berry died 
suddenly, perh ips like others of i he early 
settlers vvas kided by the Indians, and 
that he died about the ye ir 1669 in which 
the deed was given. Of tliese first set- 
tlers of Sandy Bi-ach to whom we have j 
refeired who c ime over in 163l. Thorn is 
Seavy appears to have lived until 170"^. | 
The manner of his death is uncertain. , 
Francis iiand was killed Sept 29. 1691, 
while his son wa- out fishing. 21 weie 
killed at the same time, among them an- 
other of ilie first settlers. Uapt Anthony 
Bracket; and others were captured, in- 
cluding two young children of the Brack- 
tts, a boy wh uu they recovered and a 
girl who was carried to Canada, and 
there marr ed a Frenchman, and a'tei- 
wards come back to claim her share in 
her father's property. One or more of 
theciiildren killed at the time were dash- 
ed against a ri>ck whieh stood in the road 
near Sam'l M. R^ind's. The tradition is 
that the stain of blood wis to be seen for 
many yeais. The rock h is since been re- 
moved to make a highway. Captain 
Bracket's house was set on fire. S )me 
of his sons were at work in the salt marsh, 
and having tiie guns, went over to the 
garrison house at Saunders' Point, now 
Foss' beach. Thomas Hand, the son of 
Francis who was killed, when he c.tme 
from fishing, being a courageous man, fol- 
lowed them over to Bracket's and Jired at 
them, whieii frightened them awav. Old 
Mrs. Rand, nearly blind, supposed to be 
the wife of Francis, was kided by the 
Indians while htr husband had gone to 
mill. She was ^apprehensive of danger 
and i^egged him not to go, saying the 
Indians would kill hei', but he m ide light 
of her fe:irs, telling her there were no 
Indians this side of Lake Winnipiseogee. 
Great must have been his consternation 
to find on his return that her fears had 
been realized. This must have been very 
near the time that he was massacred. A 



little girl named Judkins, 5 years old, was 
captured, in 1691, with her brother. Her 
brother was frozen to death when cross- 
ing Lake Winnipiseogee near .Moulton- 
boruugu. She was with them several 
years and came near perishing wirh hun- 
ger. She lived to return and afterwards 
ma' lied a Randall. 

She died in Moultonborough. A child 
named Ksiher, surname not given, wa* 
taken from the cradle about this lime by 
the Ittdians while its mother was away; 
her iatlier bo-ight her back with a keg of 
rum She afterwards married a VVaters, 
lived to a ^reat age, become poor and 
deaf, and was supported by the town. — 
Tho'uas VVaUord, another of the early set- 
ih-rs of San Iv Be.ich who came over in 
IG31, was killed by Indians on the hill by 
John S. Il'^mick's. Tradition says that 
aft^r he was .diot he cr.iwled on his hands 
a.id kn es to where Robinson Fo-s now 
lives. 11 IS wife was accused of witchcraft. 
There is stiil on record an account of the 
trial of "Goodwitf, Wabord," at Portss 
mouth in 1638. The complainant Su- 
sannah Trimuiiiiijs testified as follows: 
•"As I was g >ing h.;me on Sunday night. 
I heard a rustling in the woods which I 
supoosed to be occasioned by swine, and 
presently there appeared a woman whom 
I apprehended to bo Go id wife Walfurd 
She asked me tn lend her a pound of cot 
ton. I fold her I had but two pounds in 
the h luse and I would not spare any to 
my mother. She said I had better have 
don(! it, for I was going a great jiurney, 
but should never come there. She tht^n 
Uft m ; and I was struck as with a chip of 
fire on the back; and she vanished tow, 
ards the water-side, in my apprehensionr 
in the shape of a cat. She had on her 
head a white Imen hood, tied under her 
chin ; and I.er waistcoat and petticoat 
were rod, with an old gown, apron, and 
a black hat upon her head." Several 
other wi nesses were examined ; but the 
case was not then decided, and was prob- 
abl} dropped at the n(!xt term of the 
Court. Mrs. Walford afterward brought 
an* action for slander against Robert 
Coutch for saying that she was a witch 
a;id he could prove her one. The ver- 
dict w IS in her favor — five pounds and 
costs. 

Another prominent person among the 
early settlers of the town of Rye, was 
Capt. John Locke. He was a carpenter, 
the son of John Locke of Ijondon. who 
married Christian French, July 26, 1621 
He was born Sept. 16, 1627, and came 
from Yorkshire, England, in 1644. Tra- 
dition savs that lie first settled in Dover, 




,^ 



I, 



V 



6 



where lie had a tract, of land, but this is 
probably incorect as the eirli^ st records 
of Dover contain no evidence that he ev- 
er resided or had a right of land there. 
From thence in-tSoSi, he is said to have 
ri^inoved to what is known as Fort Point 
in New Castle. From Newcastle he re- 
moved to Sagamore Creek, where l.e re 
sided until 1655, when I'C removed to 
Jossel\n's N* ok, afterwards called from 
him Locke's Neck, now known as Straw's 
Point, v^fhich was ihen a part of Hampton. 
Here as it appears Iroin the records of 
town of Hampton, "he sat down on com- 
mon lands."" It appears that the town of 
Hampton was indignunt at his taking 
such liberties without so much as s yiiig 
"by your leave," and May 24, 1666, a 
committee was chosen to pull up his 
fence, and M ircii 12, 1G67, to warn him 
to desist from improving the town's land, 
and to noiify him that the town is dis- 
pleased v/it!i his building there. Com 
])laint was mad'' against him as a tres- 
passer, and he was warned to appear at 
the next meeting and give an account of 
himself. On the 8th of March 1667, the 
town voted as follows : "Upon the n)o- 
ti(m of John Locke who desire h to yield 
himself to ye town of Hampton as an in- 
habitant umi.ngst us, being already seltind 
tapon Josselyn's Neck in Hampton bounds, 
the town hath acCfpled of ye s lid John 
Locke for an ini;ahit:in accordingly." 
Fri'm all which we see that he w s a man 
of firmness and not easily driven from his 
pu'pose. At the present time when men 
are allowed to become ci izens at will, 
the opposition of the town of Hampton 
to bis settleiueiit among them may not 
be easily comprehended. But the times 
were different. A seitlemen! in its in- 
fancy would have been very much exposed 
to injury if no precautions had been ta- 
ken in regard lo receiving inhabitants. 
Mischievous and di orderly persons mi^ht 
have come in and harrassed 'be setilers 
Tills was foresenn and me;isures taken 
to prevent it. The power of admitting 
inhabitants, and of granting them the 
privileges of freemen was s^rictl' guard- 
ed. After the town was once organized 
none wen* admitted from abr<iad without 
the permission of the freemen, so that 
their treatment of Locke was by no means 
exceptional, as will be seen from thi^ fol- 
lowing vote : "That no manner of per 
sen should come into the tmvn as an 
inhabitant, without the penalty of 20s. 
per week, unless he give sali-factor> 
security to the town." 

Capt. John Locke was an energetic, 
courageous man, very active against the 



Lidians, and instrumental in defeating 
them in several of their aUempts to de- 
stroy the inhabitants on the sea-coast, 
which excited their personal hostility ; and 
th^y came from Canada, eight in num- 
ber, with an expressed design as ajipeaied 
afterwards to avi nge themselves in his 
deaih He was kibed while reaping in 
his field, Aug. 26, 1G9G, at the age of 70, 
though one account says 78. The firsi, is 
probably more correct. 

'i he Indian is often spoken of as cher- 
ishing a determined spirit of revenge, nd 
we have comt^ to look on him in ihis re- 
spect as difff.rlnfi materially from the 
white nun. Bui human nature is essen- 
lially (he same. The difference is owing 
to circumstances. We have an idustra- 
tion of ihis thirsting for levenue in the 
contlu t of Capt. Locke's grandson. 
Though not born until 1702, six years af- 
!er ;he deaih of his grandfather, such was 
the hostile feeling excited within hiiu by 
the knowledge of the circums ance, that 
he killed an Indian in peaceful times, al- 
h-giiig that the Indians killed his grand- 
fa hei, thus vi-iting the puni.-hinent on an 
innoci-ni representative ot the race. I'his 
murder was coin nitted oa the spot 
where Dea. Jonathan Locke now lives. 

The firs Jenni'.'is according to tra<iition 
;ip(jears to have been Francis, a baker 
who cam'' with two brolliers from Ky, 
Kngland. he alone settling here, and 
from hi II probably fhe town of Kye re- 
ceived its name. The Rev. Mr. Porter 
in his Half Ceniury Sermon says that the 
town from its first seti lenient ree«ived the 
namri it now beai s ; which was given, it 
is -upposed, by reason of some ot its first 
inhabitants coming from the townoflhe 
.-ame name in i^^ngland. Francis Jenness 
so far as it appear^ was (he onh one that 
came from that town, arid hence we con- 
clude that the town received its name from 
liim; it is believed ihat he came previous 
to 16C0. One account states that he came 
wi h .Anthony liracket and Ca|)t. J' hn 
Locke, but this is a mistake, as tiie coming 
ol the one is known lo have preceded by 
several years the coming of the other In 
1675 he received a giant of the common 
lands by the sea from the town of llainp- 
ton. ! e lived near the presen' residence 
of Mr. Sheridan Jenness, aiiil is said to 
have died in 1716, aged 82 The name 
originally was Jennings. The first Phil- 
brick who came to llye was Joseph, about 
the year 1700, and settled near the house 
of Francis Jenness in the ^outh part of the 
town. He was the grandson of Thomas 
Pnilhrick who came from Lincolnihire, 
En<Hand,wi(h Sir Ivichard Saltinstall. and 



settled in VVatertown in 1630, and re- 
moved to llaiupton in iGto, and d ed in 
1667, very a<^eil. Joseph iiie<l Nov. 7, 
175;), in his y^d year, 

Joseph Brown also is said to have lieen 
one of the (ist settlers of t'le tow i of 
Rye, of which he was selectman in 1728. 
His gramlfather Jolni Br wn was a ba 
ker, c un". from London in England in 
1635, was one of the pri'priitors of 
Hampton in 1638; afterwards one of the 
largest landholders in the place. 

The Indiin massacre at Portsmouth 
Planis and Sigamoie Ci eek was on the 
26th of June 1006. F'uir cen were killed 
and six were wounded Among the 
•wounded w:»s Mrs. Mary Brewster, wife 
ot Joiin Biewster Jr., great gr unison ut 
Elder VVm. Brewster who came over in the 
Mayflower. She was scalped, and deep- 
ly woanded hj' a tomahawk, ;ind was tak- 
en up for dead. She afterwards recov- 
ered, and became the mother of four sons, 
and lived 48 years, dying Sept. 22, 1711, 
aged 78. I'^ive dwelling houses were 
burned and nine barns. Ihe attack was 
made at early dawn, and as the people 
awoke from theii slutiihcrs they wore 
greeted iiy the light nftheir burning barns, 
Caf)t. Shackfi'rd of Portsmouth radieil 
bis military company and pursued them; 
their direction was through long Swamp; 
in a cour.-e for Rye about four miles dis- 
tant from the Plains, Capt Shackford and 
his men discovered them with their plun 
der and captives; they w re at. breakiiist, 
and had plac <1 the four prisoners they had 
taken in a position to rece'ive the first of 
feet ofa discharge of guns, should they 
be suddenly surprised; they were on the 
declivity of a hill , near the boundary line 
between (Greenland and Rye, which has 
b'Cn cal ed lireaKtast lliU, troin this cir- 
cumstanct!. Thi; cnnpany rushed up. in 
thti ground. re>cuiMl the prisoners and re- 
took the plunder, but the enemy escap- 
ed and coni'caled themselves in the 
swamp til nit;ht; then in iheir canoes, 
which they h id previously concealed in 
the bushes at Sand}' Beach, they took 
their departure, and m tde their escape by 
gong outside of the Isles of Shoa s 

Another statement is as fodows ; "At 
the tim" the Indians destrovi^l Ports- 
mouth Plains by fire, t'lev landed on Jos- 
selyn's neck, now Straw's Point, by nigut, 
an I as Capt. John Lo'-ke was r^^ading his 
bible, on Sabliath morning, looking up he 
observed their canoes concealed in the 
bushes, and scuttled them, which compel- 
cd the Indians to retreat by laud. 

The town of Newcastle was incorpora- 
ted in 1G93, 1 embraced in addition to its 



present limits Great Island, also that part 
of Rye extending from Little Harbor now 
called Odiurne's Point to Poss Beach. 

The present town of Rye was originally 
taken from Portsmouth, Greenland, llamp- 
tom and Newcastle, and was incorporated 
April 30, 1726. 

Another account says 1718, but this is 
probably a mis'ake. At the time of its 
incorporation Jotham Odiorne and Sam- 
uel Hracketw ere appcinti-d a committee to 
settle with the selectmen of the town of- 
New<'astle. It was for many years after 
its formation into a Society, styled the 
Parish of Rye in Newcastle. Only since 
the commencement of the Ameiican Rev- 
olution has it exercised town privileges. 
B'fore that time it acted in conjunction 
with Newcastle, in the choice of represent- 
atives, and in other usual town business, 
but a separation from the town of New- 
castle was agitated at an e irlier period. 
March 1, 1758 as appears from the re- 
cords, a town meeting was warned, among 
other things, "to see wheiher the Parish 
will for to get off from going to the Great 
Island to choose .Assembly men!" but no 
action appears to have been t.iken. The 
(irst meetingdiouse was erected in 1725, 
and the next year July 10, 1726, a church 
was organized. Other matters pertain- 
in j; to the history of the town in its relig- 
ious and educational aspevts are of course 
omittiHl. 

Th ' town has contributed more largely 
to the settb'inent of the interior of the 
State, than any other according to its 
>iz '. Epsom, Rochester, Barringfon, 
Chester and many other towns recognize 
m ny of their inhabitants as having been o- 
riginaby from this place, and the cliurches 
in a number of these towns were first 
formed in part by members removed 
from the church of Christ here. 

In 1753 Scarlet Fever extensively pre- 
vailed. Many children died, three or 
four in a fumly. 1761 the Small Po.x 
prevailed extensively. 

Rye Ha-bor was dug out in 179- — vot- 
ed Mav 7th. 133 days' labor appear to 
have tieen given. In the Canada or 
French War, H persons lost their lives 
in the service of tlieir countiy, and thirty- 
eighi in the war of thu Revolution, by sea 
and land, most of them young men. Mr. 
Porter says twenty-einht,but this is a mis- 
take, as thirty-eight na/ncs are record il, 
Capt Joseph Parsons raised his own com- 
pany in the war of ihe revolution. 

Nearly ad of them were from Rye. 
Ninety five from this town served under 
him at different times, and at least four 
other coiniiianders. How many priva- 



8 



teersmen thnre were is not known. Ju- 
ly 18, 1774, two deputies, Samuel 
Knowles and Samuel Jenness. were cho- 
sfu to go to the convention at P^xeter, to 
choose delefrates to a general Conj^re-s. 
and at the same time it was voted ihaf 
the Selectmen shall raise three pounds 
towards paying the delegates, and that the 
Parish will defiay the charges of the 
deputies." 

The town w;is visited wiih great sick- 
ness and mortality in 1803. Aiore than 
22o peisons were seized with diseases of 
vaiious kinds. 35 died. In 1816 the 
spoiled fever prevailed. 'I'he disease 
was so infectious and the mortality so 
great as seriously to alarm the inhab- 
tants. The buriaU were ruade by night. — 
In the last war with Great Britain, Mari h 
18. 1813, an Alarm list Company of ob 
officers and privates was formed in this 
town, of which Jonathan VVed^ewood 
was chosen Captain, 92 from the town 
of Rye were engaged in this war, besides 
the alarm C'-mpanv. Eleven cavalry serv- 
ed under Capt. James Colman, and the 
others in two companie.> of infantry under 
Captains Ephraim Phibrick and Samuel 
P. Berry. IG served as privnteersmen. 
4 were captured, 2 lost. Three, Koberi 
Robinson. R chard R. Locke, and Na- 
thaniel G. Lear, were put in Dartmoor 
prison. Dr. Joseph Paisons served as 
Surgeon's mate on the ship Orlando. Foi- 
ty eight appliidfor bounty land, under 
the act of March 3, 1855. 

As early as 1834, as appears from the 
records, iht town committed itself by th- 
following vote in favor of temperance: — 
"Voted, that the selectmen shiU not 
grant license to any person to retail ar- 
dent spirit in this town the present year." 
Ami March, 8, 1836 it was further voied 
"that no cigars or pipes shall be smoked 
in or about the meeting houses or school 
bouses on the Sabbath, under the penalty 
of one dollar fine for each and every of- 
fence, to be collected by a complaint be- 
fore a Justice of the Peace, by the sexton, 
Selectmen, or tithing men." 

In the late rebellion 100 men enlisted, 
forty six in 1801, fifty four in 1862 — 
Forty-four were dratted Aug. 1, 1863. — 
Six are known to have lost their lives in 
the service. Charles Holmes, killed at 
the first bailie at Bull Run, J. Harrison 
Foye killed May 3. 1862. Wra. F. Math- 
er, killed at the battle of Cold Harbor, 
June, 1864. David Locke, killed at Har- 
rison's Landing, Sept 29, 1864 ; John H. 



Shapleigh, killed at Waynesboro', Virgin- 
ia, Sept. 28, 1864 ; Lieut. Robert P. Shai>- 
1-igh died June 2, 1865. 

What a contrast between the present 
and the past ! How liale we realize the 
hardships of the early .'■ettlers! They 
had few of the comforts and none of the 
luxuries of life. The wildness of nature 
was to be subdued ; forests to he levelled ; 
houses to be erected, and they had only 
the rudest iiuplemenis. The great, ocean 
with its rolling waves, was ever reminding 
them that a well nigh impassable barrier 
lay between them and the dear old coun- 
try they had left behind. They were har- 
assed continually with feai'. For aujiht 
they knew, a savage might be lurking in 
ambush, or a wild iieist in every thicket. 
When they lay down at night they knew 
not but it might be their last sleep. The}' 
left their homes consciou-* that they might 
be matis acred, or return to find their 
wives and children murdered, or carried 
into an almost hopeless captivity, and their 
habitations in ruins. Tlieir arms were 
constantly with them, at their work and 
by their firesides ; and even when in the 
house of God, they were guarding against 
surprise , and were ready to defend them- 
selves at a moment's notice. Every man 
carried as it were his life in his hands, and 
the lives of his dear ones. Consider the 
privileges and bles.sings of to-day, and re- 
member that they are the reward of their 
labors. 

The citizens of Rye from the time of the 
Revolution onward have shown themselves 
the hei'uic defenders of liberty. 

They have loved their country, and been 
loyal to free principles, and whenever their 
country has been imperilled, have made an 
earnest and manly resistance to organized 
oppression and wrong. They have vindi- 
cated the cause of truth and justice, and 
maintained the honor of the dear old tiag. 

Recall the past, let your imagination 
bring up before you those who at differ- 
ent times have gone out from among you, 
leaving wife and children and home, and all 
that was dear to them, and offered them- 
selves a sacrifice upon the altar of their 
country, for their country's good. Think 
of :hem pining in hospitals and prisons ; 
of their wearisome marches ; their dying 
groans and their mutilated bodies, as they 
lay weltering in tlieir gore or were lifted 
from the blood-stained earth on which 
they fell ; of the anguish, the bitter heart- 
rending sorrow, ot^ fathers and mothers, 
brothers and sisters, widows and orphans, 
and read in it the price they paid, — the 
cost of our free institutions. 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES IN RYE. 



ADDRESS OF KKV. ALVA II 11. MORRILL. 



By thfi assignment of your committee, 
it becomes my duty to speik to you at 
this time concernii'g the religious imer- 
ests of our town from earliest times till 
the present. It will he well lor us to 
bear this fact in mind, that we owe much 
of our temporal prosperity to religious in- 
stitutions. This has been clearly exem- 
plitied in tiie early history of tlic town. 
The early settlers being only thinly scat- 
tered through the trnvn, and in low cir- 
cumstance-', were destitute of the settled 
minisiry for about ninety years, and dur- 
ing all this time their circumstances were 
but little improved. The commencement 
of their era of prosperity was cotempora- 
ry with the founding of the church. 'J'he 
first meeting house in this town was erect- 
ed in 1725. The timlier ibr this Iiouse 
was dr.iwn to the spot by nun yoked to- 
gether. The reason of this joking of 
men is not known ; Intt whatever it was, 
their zeil in the good w^rk was commend- 
able, and wo'thy of imitation. 

As to the size or style of this primitive 
meeting house, nothing is known. It, 
was prui'alily like others of the same time, 
destitute of architectural beauty, ru(]ely 
finished and plainly furnished, without 
sti'ves, cushiouH, carp^ ts or even piint; 
in fact entirely free from any of the com- 
forts or conveniences of modern church 
es. Here without doubt, the gra) -haired 
father, the care-worn mother, the stal- 
wart young man, the blushing maiden, 
and the little child reverently listened to 
the long prayer and lengthy sermon, with 
scarce a thought of a more attractive 
and comfortable place of w>i ship. 

The meeting-house built, the nc.\t step 
was to find a preacher. At a parish 
meeting held on May 9th, 1726. it 
was voted that Mr, Nathaniel Morrill 
should be the settled minister of this par 
ish." llis salai v was 90 pounds, equiva- 
lent to $300. By vote of the Parish. 
June 29lh, 172G, "the 26th day of July 
next was set apart as a day of fasting and 
prayer, to supplicate the throne of grace 



and seek God's blessing in ye great and 
weighty affair of settling Christ's church 
in this parish, which ye Lord grant may 
redound to his glory." It appears by 
this that the church was organized the 
20th of July 1726- 20 persons were dis- 
missed from the church in Hampton to 
join heri'. Mr. Morrill was ordained the 
14th of the following September. 

U'hcn fixing the time, the parish voted 
that Richard Jenness and Nathaniel Rand 
should provide a dinner for ye ministers 
and me-sengers at ye parish charge, in 
case .>e contributions and Iree-will offer- 
ings of persons should fall short, which is 
to be on ye last Sa!)batli in August." 
Everything appears to have gone on 
smoothly for some years, and Mr. Morrill 
seems to have enjoyed the esteem of the 
people; as in 1732 the parisli voted him 
a gratuity of 20 pounds, and in 1733 they 
\oiedthat four collections should be taken 
for him during the year. But something 
seems to have suddenly transpired, for in 
two month- of the last vote, they "voted 
that Mr. Morrill shall not preach in this 
parish, nni- hire a minister for it and 
that vve will not pay his salary.'' He 
; was dismissed Sept. 26, 1733. Of his 
j ministry here nothing is recorded, as the 
j church record extends back no further 
I than 1736, hence we cannot know what 
I was the cause of this summary action on 
I the part of the parish. He was a man of 
acknowledged abilities. Tradition has it 
that the best that could be said of him is 
wilt an old parishioner said after his dis- 
missal, that "when he was in the pulpit 
henever ought to go out. and when out, 
he never ought to go in." 

For more than three years the people 
were without a pastor, but they were not 
idle. In Nov. 173-1, 450 pounds of Bills 
of Credit were appropriated to procure a 
parsonage house and land. Of this an- 
cient parsonage but little is known, but 
it was probably in keeping with the meet- 
ing-house only more substantial, as it serv- 
ed its purpose 70 years, while the uk eting 



10 



house was used only about 35. In 1735 
a comiuittee was appoiiiled by the parish 
tocoiisu't with certan\ clerg\meu aboui 
settling a minister. They heard several 
candidates, and finally August 16ih 17;>6, 
Mr. Samu 1 Parsons received and accept- 
ed the call to become their pastor, "on a 
salary of 140 pounds, 20 cords of wood, 
with the parsunaj^e " He was o^'dained 
and installed Nov. 3, ot the same year. 
The house vv:is not finished until alter Mr. 
Parsons occupied it, but in tht-; foUowinix 
spring it was completed, and an orchard 
set 01. t. Kor was the meeting-house fin- 
ished until 17o9, 14 years afier ii had 
been built, fur we find in this year that 
they voted to finish the meeting-house, 
all but what joined the pe^s. Nothing 
of special int' rest occurs agam until Jan. 
2^!th, 1755, when a vote was taken in ref- 
erence to repaiiingthe old meeting-house, 
or buildiuii a new one, which resulted in 
favor of the new. 

Several recorded their dissent. The 
dimt^nsion.s of this house were G0.\40. 
Near the close of the following year it 
was voted to build a steeple. How long 
this house was in process of budding is 
not known, as there is no record of its 
dedicition, but probably it was several 
years. 1 hus the first meeting house, af- 
ter a brief existence of only about 35 
years, was torn down to give place to an 
other. Several appropriations were made 
for a bell, uniil finally in 1766, ihe select- 
mi-n were ill^tructed to pay tor the same, 
and a committee were lo hiie it hung as 
cheaply as possible. This house was lo- 
caU'd closeto the street, nearly west Iron) 
the presen Congregationalist Church, 
and is well remembered by the older por- 
tion of our community. From •sundry 
votes that were passed, mentioning the 
women's seats below, and the women's 
gallery, I conclude that there were cer- 
tain seals for nn^ii and others for women. 
This meeting house was of the okl lash- 
ioned kind, with its high square pews., 
gallery on three sides, high pulpit, its 
sounding board, &c. The parish en(Uav- 
ort^d to preserve good order in the ser- 
vice of God's house, judging from the 
many instnictions given at different times 
to the tiihing men, and other votes, such 
as, "every person ouniing to meeting on 
the Lord's day in time of service inusi 
uike his seat in the meeting house direct- 
ly," and "the belfry and stairs mu^t be 
cleared ot boys alter service begins." 

At lengih by age and paralytic shocks 
Mr. Parsons hecyme unable to perform 
the duties of his ollice, and in June 18ih, 
1784, J.'cacons Jenness and Locke were 



chosen a committee to go to North Hill 
and inquire of the niinislers for a young 
man who had a good recommendation 
anit would be likely to spttie. 

Eff irts wer.- now made to effect some 
settlement with Mr. Parsons, that the field 
might be cUar for a young man. After 
two attempts, an Mrrangement was finally 
perfected, Oct. 11, 17«4, by which Mr. 
Samuel VVallis, Jr., agreed to keep Mr. 
Persons during his natural life for ^S5 prr 
year, and Mr. Parsons, signed an agree 
II ent releasing the [)arish from any obli- 
gation to him, in consideration of this pro- 
vision fot his support. Oct. 25, 1784, the 
church met at Mi-, Parsons house and vo- 
ted to call I'dr. ILmting on Poiter to be- 
come colleague pastor, the pirish on the 
same day concurring m the aition ot the 
church. Mr. Porter accepted the 'call, 
and the following were the article.s of 
agreement : 75 pounds the firsi year, 80 
the second, 85 the third and 9u pounds 
the fourth and following years, to be paid 
in gold or silver, or an equivalent; use of 
the p:irsonage, wiiich was to be kept in 
lepair, and after Mr. Parsons' death, 
eight cords of wood brought to his door. 
Tne p 'und was equivalent to 3 1-3 dol- 
l.irsofour money. Mr. Porter was or- 
dained and installed Deo. 29(h, 1784. — 
Mr. Parsons died Jan. 4th 1789. DurinTg 
his pastorate over 2ou persons were ad- 
mitted to full communion, and 1.581 names 
are recorded on ihe church book as hav- 
ing been baijtized, and the marriag. s of 
nearly 400 couples are also recorded. He 
.-eems to have been highly esteemed by 
th« parish, as a few yeais after his death 
they voted to purchase head stones for 
Mr and Mrs. Parsons' graves. 

Afier the death of Mr. Parsons, until 
1828, one of the items in tie record of 
every annual election was "Vendue of 
Mr. Porter's wood." The new meeting 
house was not fully finished at first, as a 
vote was p issed iMarch 29 17UG instruct- 
ing the selectmen to furnish clapboards 
and timber for the crowns of the windows, 
and the following year the parish voted to 
clapboard and otherwise improve the 
house. In 1805 they vcted to paint the 
outside the same color as the steeple, and 
to paint the pulpit and dea^'ons' seats 
m;diogany color ; and also to paint the 
front and pillars of the gallery. In 18o« 
a part of tne meetinghouse was convert- 
ed into an arsenal, as we find that the 
town voted that tlie powder and balls for 
the town be deposited in the "?'u^'" of the 
meeting liouse. 

In 1810, the old parsonage house, 
which had been built about 75 years, had 



11 



become so unfit for its purpos-, lliat a 
new o>e was votml, and ilie work of coii- 
stiuction >se ms to have gone rapidly for- 
ward. The parson ige was to be 38 by 29 
feet, was to iiave two ihiinne\s ; the first 
story H feet post, the second story 7 feet 
post, &c. It was built near the site of 
tlie old house, a little to the east of it, and 
some of the timber of thi- old house was 
to be used in its construction It was oc- 
cupied as a parsoiKif^e only about 20 
years, when it was sold on account of ai^ 
iiicunibrance. This hiuse is still stan I- 
in<^, beii)g now the residence of Mr. Isaac 
llar.d. 

Thus far in our his'ory of tlie relijfious 
inteiests of thi: town, wo have spoken of 
but one church, because there had been 
but or)e for more th m 90 years. But it 
is not to be so in the afer history, as Kye, 
like aha st ever} other New Enj^land 
tow.i where once the only church was tiie 
Congiegational, is to have, like them, 
churches of other denoniinations tlian the 
"slam/in f/ order.'''' 

About 1S05 or 10. we cannot ascertain 
the date exactly, Elder Eben Leavitt be- 
gan to preach in this vicinity the doctrine 
now held by the denomination called 
Chi istian. which had its origin near the 
beginnnig of the pre-ent century, Many 
eiubrac d the.'-e vii^ws, which were then 
regarded as heretical f>r heterodox, but 
whch now, such has been the chang« in 
theolog cal views, are regarded as ortho- 
ilo.x, and those embracing them held in 
esteem by all evangelical churches. Of 
course there was a division. Instead of 
all attending one church, tht^y now at- 
tended two. About, the same time a 
small meeting house was built, by Mr. 
Nathaniel Ki.owles aided by a few others, 
on his land, which is now owntd by Mr. 
Charles Knowles, the meeting house 
standnig midway of the lane leading from 
the street to his house, on the right hand 
side. 

We learn that there was considera'le 
bitterness, and many harsh saying occa- 
sioned by this new depariure, as would 
likely be the case, and that Mr. Porter 
doubted the wisdom o( such a course and 
even opposed it ; ;is we should naturally 
expect. However, the y<»ung society 
flourished amid all this opposition, and 
gained in inlluencc. sn th it in 1824. the 
town believed in toleiation, as is witness- 
ed by the fact that it voted to supply the 
Christian as well as the Cong, church 
•.vith wood, which was done for several 
yeuis. 

The early records of the Christian 
Church and Society arc not as full as we 



could wish, and hence many items which 
would have been of interest at this time 
are not within our reai h. 

In 1824 and also 1827, extensive revi- 
vals were enjo}'ed under the labors of 
Eldeis Leavitt, Philbrick •■ind others of 
the ('hristian denomination, which greatly 
strt-nglheind that society. i he [jasloral 
care of this people wa-i taken by Eid. 
I^Jphraim l'hilbrick,who had been convert- 
ed under the labo: s of Eld. Leavitt, and 
ord. lined here, until 1839. In 1828, 
Nov. 7, -in ai^reement was entered into 
by I he town and Mr. Porter whereby the 
ci\il contract between him ami tlie town 
as pastor, was dissolved, the town paying 
Mr. Porter !$3oO, and granting him the 
use of the parsonage until March, 183 J ; 
and by this action the Local church was 
disestablished. 

In 182'J, the use of the meeting house 
was granted to the Christians, Methodists 
and Universalists for one half the time, 
the Co.ig. Society worshippmg one half 
of the time at the centre schoolhouse in 
cons quence. 

The Chri-tian Society however seem 
not to have used the old meetinghouse long 
— for IJec. 13, 1830, pel mission was granted 
them to move their meeting house before 
alluded to, upon the tov\'n lands at the 
centie near the pouml, and it was soon af- 
ter moved, and stood directly in front of 
the present church. 

The Methodists however held meetings 
quite regularly for a line and occupied 
the old meeting house, but soon h id only 
occasional jireaching, a.s no society or 
church was formed till several 3'ears af- 
ter. Just before the dissolution of the 
civil compact with Mr. Porter, an effort 
was made to form a new re ii^ious society. 
to act in conjunctionwith the Cong, church, 
and Its organization was <'ffected Oct. 24, 
1828, under the name of tiie 3d religions 
society in Liye, but the name was change 1 
March 28, 183l3, to the Congicgational 
Society. There were 135 signatures at 
the time of its organization. 

In 1829, the burden of cate and re- 
sponsibility being too great for Mr. Por- 
ter, who was considerably adv.aiiced in 
years, the Cong, society on April 8'.h in- 
vited Mr. Bezaleel Smith to become col- 
league pastor with Mr. Porter, and he 
was ordained and installed May 13,1829. 
In Feb. lS3f , the Cong, church and so- 
ciety became interested ii the matter of a 
parsonage for thi^ir minister, asthe town 
parsonage was sold in June 1830, and af- 
ter several meetings for that purpose a 
subscription w.^s started, which soou 
amounted to ever S8i30, and a little after 



12 



to the requisite $1000, the ?um whi'-h 
must be raised before any of the subscrip 
tions became due. A committee of 12 
were chosen to expend the money, and 
they first bought o acres ot land of Miss 
M.Locke, which in a few months was sold, 
and in April 1833, the Lieu . Amos Gar- 
land farm was purchased for .$1200. for 
parsonage purposes. A barn was built 
and some otlier improvements, making 
the entire cost of lh<- parsona<;e land and 
buildings about $1500 at that limn. It 
seems that in 1839 there was a debt of 
over $80 on the parsonage, and the sub 
scribers for a parsonage voted that they 
would deed the pr perty to thu Congre- 
gationalist !-ocie y. if said society wnuld 
assume the debt, which ihey d'd, and the 
parsonage was deeded to the society, De- 
cember 16, 1839. 

The Cong, society continued to occupy 
the old meeting house, with no effort to 
secure a new house, until March 25, 1837, 
when at the annual meeting it was voted 
t J choose a committee of four to circulate 
a subscription paper to raise money for a 
new meeting house. The building com- 
mittee were authorized to expend a sum 
not exceeding $2700. The audience room 
■was finished so as to be dedicaed Dec. 27, 
1837. It appears from the records that 
the house cost $2918. The highest paid 
for a pew was$60.10. The house contain- 
ed 64 pews. At a meeting held Oct. 28, 
1839, Thomas J Parsons Esq., with such 
persons as he might associate with him- 
self, was granted the privilege of finishing 
a hall in the basement, to be controlled by 
them until such time as the society should 
pay for the cost of finishing said hall with 
interest. The finishing of the vestry cost 
nearly $800. The society took possession 
of it in 1841, having paid the expenses of 
finishing it. 

Bat we must now go back a little 
, as to time. According to the church rec- 
ord, the Christian church was organized 
Aug. 20, 1833, as this is the date of its 
constitution. It had probably been or- 
ganized before, but as we have no pre- 
vious recoid, and as the constitution or 
covenant was adopted at this time, we 
must date this as the organization of the 
church under its present form. The names 
of forty persons are recorded as the 
members at this time. Large accessions 
were received in the spring of 1839. That 
year was one of great importance to the 
religious societie-; of this town. March 
16th of this year the Methodist Episcopal 
Society was organized. April 12th a 
building committee was chosen, and such 
was the rapidity \vith which the work was 
done that the meeting house was dedicated 
Oct. 9th, 18.39, Rev. Jacob Sanborn 
preac'iins the sermon. 



'this house with the land cost about 
S2300, and contained 48 pews, if I remem- 
ber correctly. 

The Cnristian Society, that had wor- 
shipped several years in a h 'Use far too 
smiil for their needs and uuwoithy ol its 
purpose, during tliis year also erected 
their church. 

Their house cost, including the land on 
which it stands, and that occupied by the 
sheds, $3750, the land being SoGO. it 
contained, as now, 60 pews The pews 
were all prized at $60 apiece, and were 
sold ;it auction for choice, the highest 
choice money being $33, so the highest 
paid for a pew was $93. According to 
the church record, it was dedicated 34 
years ago to d.iy, but this is a mistake, as 
in the life of Eld-r Mark Fernald, mention 
i-i made of the dedication, at which he 
was present, as taking place Oct. 30ih, 
1839, which is undoubtedly correct, llev. 
David Mdlard, then of Portsmouth, who 
died at Jackson, Mich, a few weeks sinci% 
preached the dedication sermon. 

In July 12, 1841, Rev. Mr. Smi'h was 
dismissed from the Cong Church, and on 
Dec. 1 Ith of the same year, Rev. James 
F. McRwen was installed. Durmg Mr. 
McEw.:n's pastorate. Rev. Huntingto'i 
Porter died. His death occurri'd in 
March 7, 1^*44. During this long pastor- 
ate over 850 were baptised, and over 
400 couples married. But few compara- 
tively seem to have been added to the 
church during his pastorate. 

But we must turn back for a moment 
to bid farewell to the old meeting house. 
In 1840, March 25ih, it was sold for $280. 
It was moved into the lot between the 
Cong. Church and the buildings now 
owned by Mr. Albert Walker, and some- 
what repaired, designed to be occupied 
for Universalist preaching, but was soon 
moved to Portsinouihand uspd as a stable, 
standing on the lot on State St near Mid- 
dle, now occupied by Mr. B. Frank Web- 
ster's new houise. It was destroyed by 
fire some s x or seven years since, and 
thus endeth its history. 

Rye was somewhat stirred by the great 
religious excitement of 1843 and 44, inau- 
gurated by those who believed the world 
was then coming to an end. Several here 
embraced these views, and about 20 mem- 
bers withdrew from the Christian Church, 
and with others maintained a meeting 
for some years at the South School House . 
After the lapse of several years, the 
meeting was given up and they attended 
worship at the other churches, though not 
returning to their former church relation. 
In 1842 the Methodist Society voted to 



13 



build a parsonage, which secius to have 
licen completed by 18i3, and though fur 
a while ihey were in debt, yet in due 
time i' was all puid. It cost about $800. 
Ap'il 8tl), 18-I(j ]\Ir. McEwen was dis- 
mi-sed from his pastorate, and august -ith 
1847 Kev. J. T. Otis was installe.i. and 
continued to be pastor in the Cong, church 
until April 24th 1866, when he was dis 
missed, being the last settled pastor of 
that church. 

Rev. Giles Leach began to supply for 
this church Oct 11th 1867, and continued 
thus untihhe close of 1870. since which 
time I hern has been only occasional 
pnaching for that society, until May last, 
when Rev. J. K, Aldrich began his la- 
bors. He has not yet been installed. The 
Methodist Society in 185U made quite ex- 
tensive repairs to their church, at an ex- 
pense of about $500, and it was dedicated 
June 2nd of that year. Rev Mr. Hall of 
Portsmouth preaching the sermon. 

For several years past, there his been 
nothing of special interest to demand our 
attention. Iiimiedi^itely following the 
years of church-building, there was a 
great revival interest and many were re- 
ceived into the churches. For nearly 30 
years there have been no such spasms of 
relij^ious interest as before, though there 
have been several revivals. The winter of 
67 and 58 witnessed many cinversions 

A few years since the believers in the 
immediate cominj!; of Christ, usually 
known a-* Second Adventists.revived their 
meetings here, which had been suspemted 
a few years alter the 43 and 44 excitement, 
and in May 1872 dedicated a chapel, on 
South road, so called, near Cheslcy's Cor- 
ner. Regular services are held, the Sab- 
bath services being conduced by vari'us 
clergymen of that order, as usually ihe 
churches of this faith do not have pastors. 

I have already given the names of the 
various pastors of the Cong, church, and 
it may not be amiss to mention the pastors 
of the other societies. After 1839 for 
s-mo two years Eld Philbrick and Rev T. 
F. Barry ofHciated conjointly as pastors 
of the Christian Church. After the Rev, 
Abuer Hall was pastor some 2 years, 
he was followed by the Rfv. W. H. 
Nason, l|o years, Kev. Mr. Moshin, sev- 



eral years. Rev. S. Hinckly ^4 year, W. 
H Ireland 2 years, J. H. Row^ll oyears, 
Joel Wilson 8 years, Timothy Cole 2 
years, J. L Pierce 3 years, B. Dick- 
son 3 years, C. Simonil-; 1 year, David 
Knowiton yX ynar, J. L. Pierce again 2 
years, J. P. Nelson, 1 year, T. Oow, 
9 months, and the present pastor, K^'\, 
A. H. iMorrill, followed, commencing his 
labors April 1st 1872. 

The Methodist Society have had the 
labors of J. T. Adams, Mr. VVallingford, 
Mr. Macendo, Mr. Legro, J. W. Adams, 
N. M. Bailey, N. L. Chase, W. H. 
Sfewait, G. \V. T. Rogers, and others 
whose names I have be n unable to ob 
tain. 

Rev A. Folsom was the last set- 
tled preacher. Regular services were not 
held after 1868, if I am to judge from the 
records of the societj'. I may say a word 
further relative to the number of mem- 
bers connected with the various churches. 

As near as I can estimate, the Cono-. 
church, in its recorded history of 187 
years, (there are no records of its first 
ten years) has had about 500 members. 
In Mr. Porter's day the greatest number 
was 85 and the smallest 56. Its present 
membership is between 50 and 60. 

The Methodist Church, in itshistorv of 
about 30 years, has had connected with it 
on probation and in full fellowship about 
75. 

The Christian Church, in its 50 y<'ars 
of existence, has had 240 members, and 
now numbers 120. 

I hardly nee I to say that the Metho- 
dist Church and parsonage were sold the 
piesent year, for the fact that we are now 
assembled in the old M. E. Church, 
enlarged, repaired, owned by the town, 
and by these services dedicated as a 
Town Hall, is familiar to all. 

In conclusion I may say that the pres- 
ent religious Societies are in a tlourishing: 
condition, and abundantly able to sus- 
tain themselves creditably in this commu- 
nity ; are on kindly terms with each other; 
and we hope they may keep in view the 
great objects for which they were estab- 
lished, and that they may meet with large 
success. 



THE TOWN HALL. 



TJje town of Rye purchased the Methodist Episcopal raeeting-liouse and site, for 
$1000 ; had it remodelled at a cost of $2660, and furnished at a cost of $595 ; mak- 
ing a total cost of $4255. 

The town bell was previously removed from the Congregational Church, and be- 
ing era k( d, was recast and placed on the new building. This bell had previously 
been twice cracked and recast. 

The committee for remodelling were Emmons B. Philbrick, Eben L. Seavey, Simon 
L. Chesley. Tl.e plans were drawn by E, B. Philhrick. 



ERRATA. 

Page 7, Ifttb line from top, the John Brewster Jr. whose wife was wounded at 
the Massacre on Portsmouth Plains cannot be traced as the great grandson of Elder 
Wm. Brewster, though he was probably a lenial descendent from him. 

Page 7, 6th line from bottom Dr. John W. and not Dr. Joseph Parsons, served as 
Surgeon's mate on the ship Orlando. 

Page 8, 26th line from top, Eleven Cavalry enlisted in Capt. Colman's company. 
It appears that they did not serve under him. 

Page 9, 3rd line from bottom, first column, read 20th day of July, instead of 26th 

Page 12, first column, 25th Jine from bottom, read $300 instead of $6 



THE SCHOOL HISTORY OF RYE. 



ADDRESS OF G. II. JENNESS, SUPT. SCHOOL COMMITTEE. 



It i.s not probable that thorc was any 
organized slIiooI sysiein until sometime 
after the in orporation of the Town in 
172(), although what is known as the 
"movinjj school" is referred to soon af- 
ter the Parish was severed from Newcas- 
tle. The "moving school ' was an insti- 
tution peculiar to the early settlemcnti, 
and was kept at privati^ housci in differ- 
ent neighborhoods so as to accommodate 
the children of as many families as cir- 
cumstances wonM permit. Ihe family 
that "entertained" the moving schot.l, of 
course boarded the schoolmaster, who was 
in those days considered quite a dignitary, 
second in importance only to the minister 
and the Justice ot the Peace. 

Previous to any organized effort to es- 
tabh>li public schools, ih< smaller children 
were taught by village dames — which 
sounds large at first, but which being in- 
terpreted, is generally acknowledged, 1 
believe, to have been usid as a genteel 
e.\pres>ion for ''Old Maids." 

Those who desiied to fit f)r college 
were generally taken in hand by the 
minister and prepared as well as their 
timi' and talents would allow. A fVw 
sca'tered acadamies afforded opportuni- 
ties for thoso who possessed the means, to 
acquire' a fair education, but the m iss of 
the people had to be contented with the 
facilities offered by the "moving schools.'' 

* lit lit >ii l(: * * f 

Everything relating to our early school 
history is left in a very tVagmeniary and 
<lisjointed condition. The searcher after 
facts finds but few to gather, and those 
only recoided at irregular intervals. 

While the town records are very com- 
plete upnn the important subject of ring 
ing the bell, and while the town clerks 
have been commendably faithful in record- 
ing the names of all the great men who 
have filled the positions of "Hog-reeve" 
and "Fence-viewer." both leave us in 
blissful ignorance upon the vital subject 
of Education. The earliest date that I 



have been able to find upon the regular 
Town records, concerning schotd raaiters 
is March 23, 1729, when it was "Voted at 
fd'ul meetiiiji i hat the Selectmen should be 
enipowere<l to liive a school-master and 
move him several times as they see cause 
for the conveniency of the children's go- 
ing to school." 

In 1731 it was "Voted that the sekct- 
men be empowered to hire a schoolm.,8- 
ter one half of the year. 

In June, 1737, there was an article in 
the warrant, " I'o sen what you will do 
concerning a school," but as there is no 
action recorded it is not probable that 
there was any school that year. 

in 1739, "Voted that there should be a 
moving schoid and that every party that 
hath the benefit of the school shall pro- 
vide a house to keep school in, and that 
the moving school siiall lie at the discre- 
tion of the SehctMienof the Parish." 

From 1739 to 1751 regular school ap- 
propriations were made, and in the latter 
year the question of a new school house 
was agitated, and was a "lively" issue at 
many subsequent Town meetings. In 
1751, tiie people were invited "To see if 
they will do anything concerning build- 
ing a school-house in the Parish," and in 
1752 to see if they will vote to build two 
school-houses. It will be observed th it 
the Town is spoken of as the Parish for 
many years after its incorporation, and 
were there nothing but the records of the 
Town clerks to guide us, we should infer 
that Rye continued to be a Parish of New- 
castle long after it is known to have been 
separate. 

In 1756, there Avere local dissensions 
and jealousies, and a first-class school 
row all over town. It finally culminated 
in a proposition, "To see if the parish will 
vote the school money shall be divided, 
and let each party hire a school-master 
according to their liking," and in 1757, 
"To see if the parish will settle the school 
in two pltces or settle the school at the 



16 



Centre." The voting at the meeting 
was slightly contra lictory as will be seen 
by the f'liowing record : 

1st Vi'ted that the school should be 
kept i n the Centre of the F irish. 

2nd. Voted that the school be 1<<'P'' 
one-half of the year to the eastward of 
the mee ting-h'^use. 

3rd. Voted that the school be kept in 
two p'a'-es above ihe meeting-house. 

S'ich votinii as thut sets at defiance the 
fundamental law of Physics, that tuo 
bodes cannot occupy the same space ai 
the s^me lime. Hi>w the dilEcul'y was 
finally adjusted does not appear, but in 
March 23, 1761, it was "Voted that the 
school sho'ild be one-half above and the 
oher half below the meeting house." 
(This does not mean in the bellfiy a part 
of th" time, and the remainder in the 
basement. — Ed.) 

In 1764:,sotU(^ unexpneted fit of liberal- 
ity seized upon someliody, for there was 
an article in the warrant. To see if the\ 
will buy a school-house and lot with a 
hou-e on it, or liuihl a housi^ for a sch >ol- 
mas er. "The disease didn't sprcsad how- 
evf-r, and. <'f course, the schoolma-t'r's 
house wasn't built. It i^ certain, however, 
that there weie two school-houses built in 
town sometime between 1704 and H.'^i — 
for in the lattei year there was an arlicle 
in the warra t." "To see if the Palish will 
build A school-house, or repair the old 
ones;" and it a sul)^^equent meeting the 
samf- year, it was ''Voted th:it the .-e ect- 
nien repair ihe scho"! houses, and put 
tiiem in order." Tiiispoves that theie 
were then at least two-hnuses, and that 
they had been builr, and knocked into a 
condition to need repai s since 1764. The 
sclioolhovs of those days were, in coinnion 
pfrlance, a pretty lough >et for in two 
yeais from that time, it was found neces- 
sary to build new ngain — Up repairs of 
1784 being rather i-h' rt-iive I. 

In 1786 it was "Voted there shall I e 
a new school house built where the old 
one now stands betwt-t n Mr. Johnson's 
and Mr. Nathan Knuwles'". The cost 
w s£l4 9s6d. 

It was but partially finished however, 
for in Jan. 17^9, we find an article in the 
warrant "lo see what the town wid do to 
finish the sehoo -house by N Knowles; " 
but as,fhe .-(diool-honse fever had si me- 
what su'tfided, no action was taken upon 
the matter. 

In April of the same year it was voted 
"That theie be winder .■'heters at the 
south school-house by N. Knowles." The 
recording of the vote indicates, that a 



.schoolmaster was quite as much needed as 
"winder slieters." 

In 1791, "Voted to build a school h'>'><e 
At the east end of the Parish." Cost, £34 
18s 7d. 

In 1796, "Voted the town shall be di- 
vided into 2 equal parts for to hire schools 
foe each District."' 

In 1797, "Voted the Selectmen shall 
keep 18 months school, the school to be- 
gin the 1st of May at both school houses 
and keet> on five months, -nd shall t'egin 
the middle of November and keep on four 
months." .^Iterthis there aie no recorded 
votes worthy of special mention, untd 
1816, when it was -Voted that no scholar 
below the meeting house shall go to the 
upper school, and nonr above ihe meeting 
house shall go to tlie lower school." 

In 182G, two brick school houses were 
buih in what are now the South and West 
D stricts, and in 1827 two more were buik 
in the Cenueand Ea-t Disiricts.at an :iv- 
era:ie cost of some $400, or $500 each. 
In 1827, the Town w is divided into two 
Districts, each containing two school- 
houses. In 1833, the Seh ctmen divided 
the Town into four Distiicts. In lb45, 
the Town was re disiricte I, and the boun- 
dary lines defined In 1854 it was "vo- 
ted that the ro'.?n convey by d' ed or oth- 
erwise to each school district the school- 
houses located in the sai e for their spe- 
cific use;' since which time every d s- 
trict has been entirely independent of the 
to^n in regard to the manayenient of 
its local affairs. Within three years a 
new scho 1-house has been buik in the 
West district at a cost ol nearly $2(l00. 
anil the Sou h and East have been re- 
paired at an aggregate cost of SllUO — 
I liey are all in ^iood order now und are 
a it credit lo the inlelligen ;e and liberali- 
ty of our citizens. 

'ihe amount of money appropriated for 
sci'ool purposes in 1741 was £20, in 
1744 £25 174'j£b(), 1792 £92, 1795$177, 
1797 $378. and in 1^05 $-167, v, hidi is 
the larg st amount previous to 1825. — 
From that year th" amount gr dually in- 
cieaed to $000, *70(). $MIO, $'J(iO, and 
finally in 1870 to $1200, the present ap- 
pro{)riation. Unlike most oiher lowns 
in he State, the money is equall\ divided 
between the four di-li icts, and thus ev- 
er) scholar in town is placed upon exactly 
the same footing in regard to the privi- 
leges of our schools. 

I p to the time of re-d strict'ng the 
town, the Seleeimen retained supreme 
control of all school matters, and hired 
the Teachers when the people did not 



17 



choose tbeui in open Town-mefetlng, which 
it appears they did in our early history. 
Among the incidental expenses of the 
schools, the bills for wood were noiably 
large, the old-fashioned fire-places re- 
quiring a hirge amount in cold weaiher. — 
The annual expense was from $25 to $-13, 
and that for only two school-houses, and 
when wood vvas very cheap. Among oth- 
er "incidentals"' was ihe regular charjie 
for "'Going after Teachers," from which ii 
is inferred that the "a|.iplications" for a 
situation as Teacher were not as numer- 
ous as at present. The usual expense for 
"going after teachers" was about two dol- 
lars, but in ]8(I0 the St-lecinien had a bill 
of $6.25 for hiring a schtiol-mi^tress. In- 
asmuch as this i'cm was about three times 
the usual amount, it must have bten that 
the year 18o0 was not a good year for 
"school-marms," or else the extra $■4.25 
was for constructive daa)ages inflicted up- 
on the Selectmen's modesty. 

Of the Teacliers the records furnish but 
little information. The only person men- 
tioned is Christopher Gold (probably 
meaning Gould) who was in 17(32 elected 
to keep school for .six months. We hear 
no moie of him until March 1773, when it 
was "Voted i ot ti> hire iMas'erGold an\ 
longer,'' from which I infer that he taught 
most of tht' school time during the in er- 
venin^; 11 years. Ihrought! e courtesy of 
'Jhomas J. Farsuns, E^q., 1 am able to 
lurnish from his private r^ cords the names 
of several of the leachi rs of previous gen- 
erations. Among them may be mentioned 
Joseph Parsons and Rid ard W ebster, 
who taught in 1786 and 1787 In 1 />'J, 
•90 and "91 Peter Mitel ell and John C'r- 
roll. in l~i^'6, James Lane. In 1794 
John L. Pi()er. After iheni came at va- 
rious periods Samuel Willey — John 
Fre ch, a A'r, Sherburne, Noah liurn- 
ham, John W. Parson^, Richard VV eb- 
ster Jr., Jtseph Dahon. Joseph Dame, 
Levi Meirill, Noah W'iggin, Tliomas J. 
Parsons, John A. Tiefcthen, ai d scores 
of oilers whose names are n ore or less 
familiar to you. 'Ihe wag^s p.iid ranged 
fiom $1» to $20 per monih « xdu.-ive <if 
bo ird — the earlier teachers being paid in 
the English cmreiicy 

Dr. John W. Parsons taught school 
and practiced medicine at the ^alne time. 
\\ henever he was called upon to attend 
the sick, the children were dismissed and 
sent home. Somelim>s after teaching 
SCI ool all day, he would walk over to 
Korih Hampton to attend his patients 
there, returning home on foot in the even- 
inir. 



One of the old Teachers, Levi Merrill, 
who taught at the East Schoolhouse, 
boarded at the house of a prominent resi- 
dent of the district, and, as sometimes 
happens in such instances, formed an in- 
timate acquaititance with one of the daugh- 
ters, which speedily ripened ir.fo some- 
thing decidedly like courting. The old 
man was opposed to the match, and in or- 
der to break up the arrargement, refused 
to board the t- acher at the next term of 
school. He went to one of the neighbors 
to board, and a little boy who attended 
school wasemplosed by the teacher to 
carry letters to the fair damsel whenever 
the coast was clear, and the window was 
raised a litile for a signal. The boy was 
handsomely rewarded for carrying the 
niiilby being let off fi om all the whip- 
pings he was supposed to deserve, and 
still livt s at three score and ten to relate 
the story. He h iS held mnny positions 
of honor and trust in his town and State, 
ami is familiarly known as "b quire Par- 
sons." Contrary to all the cases laid 
down in the novels for our guidance, the 
'ieacher di'Jn't marry the giil after all, 
bui only fanned the latent lo\e into a lit- 
tle ffame. and then completely extinguish- 
ed It by marrying at other woman. 

In lalei years Hall Locke is widely re- 
membered for his scholarly attainments 
and eccentric manners, in addition to 
his otliei accomplishmi'nts, he could do 
some first -class swearing whi^never he 
thoi;ght ihe ociasion demanded it, or 
whenever the school grew a little too 
noisy. At one time he had reasons for 
piinishii.ga boy, who is yet living, whose 
hair in his youthful days was about the 
Color of my whiskers (red). Seizing his 
ruler he "went for" that youngster for 
the purpose ol "reas ning" with him by 
the only pr cess then known among 
teachers. The boy, however, did nut de- 
sire to be whipped just then, so he snatch- 
ed his hat, darted oui of ihe schoolhouse 
and staried off, witii Lccke following after 
in hot pursuit. The M.ister was a little 
lime, and the boy soon put a safe dis- 
tance between himself and his dreaded 
enemy. As Locke saw him slowly but 
sureiy slipping out of his reach, he Hung 
his ruler after him witn all the energy of 
a passionate man, and yelled out "Oh! 

\ ou litt e yaller headed , if 1 could get 

hold of ye, I'd fix \e." 

Of the Supervision of the schools the 
machinery was much more cumbrous than 
at present. The Commiitee-men's visit 
was regarded as an e-vent of great import- 



18 



ance, and a vast amount of dignity was 
embodied in their long faces and stand-up 
collars. I had hoped to obtain a com- 
plete list of my predecessors, but the in- 
excusable neg ijicnce of the Town Clerks 
has rendered it impossible. 

The fust committee on record is that o' 
1798, when iL was "voted that Rev. Hunt- 
ington Porter, John Carroll and Col. Jos 
eph Parsons be a commitiee to inspect 
the sch(Jols." 

The nf^xt year (1799) the sam'? com- 
mittee were re-elec!ed :ind the whole 
board of Selectmen in the bargain. Now 
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is bad enough 
to have one committee, it is worsH to have 
three, but to send all the Selectmen be- 
sides, is pushing matters to that point 
where "forbearance ceases to be a vir- 
tue." 

In 1812 the committee consisted of Rev 
II. Porter and Dr. Joseph Parsons. In 
1813 (^ol. Thomas G 'ss, John W. Par- 
sons and Peter Jenness. 

In 1827 tne State passed a Special Act 
in regard to the supervision of schools, 
since which time most of the small town-i 
in N. ri. have elected a committee cou- 
sistin^if of only one person. From 1827 
to 1856 — by the most shameful remissness 
— there is no record whatever of s'-hool 
officers. How m my blight'-d hopes and 
cherished ambitions slumber in that twen- 
ty-nine years of unrecu'dc' greatness, cm 
never be fully known. Men who put on 
a bran-ne^v shirt coll ir, and submitted to 
every indignity of the toilet, who faci-d 
frowning school-masters anil giggling 
school jiirls, endured it all in vain, and 
havti not even the poor boon of their 
names upon t.hn Town's parchment. Af- 
ter this, what IS fame? In I8')7 Charles J. 
Brown was elected Supt. C')m, and was 
el 'Cted again in '59, '60, '63, '64, '65 and 
'66. Levi T. Walker was elected in 1858 
and again in '01 and '62, Thomas J. 
Parsons was elected ai 1867 and re elect- 
ed in 1SG8. From I8G9 until the present, 
your humble servant (G. H. Jenness ) 

In all systems of school diseipliurf, un- 
til a comparatively recent date. Force was 
the controlling Power. Ev> ry pupil was 
looked upon as a subject, over which the 
master was the supreme ru'er; and no 
King on his throne ever wielded a more 
despotic power. The idea of self-govern- 
ment in school, never entered the heads 
of those old champions of the birch ami 
cowhide. Brute force and 'hat alone was 
relied upon to concpier and keep in sub- 
jection the natural hilarity of youth. Un- 
der such management every schoolroom 



became a place to be shunnel. and its 
occupants only went there because they 
felt obliged tn. Every boy hoped a-.d 
prayed for the day when he should feel 
able to "Ick the mas'er" That cne 
word "master" tells I he whole .story ln!- 
twct-n thi' past and pres-^nt school civdi- 
zation. No one then thought of being a 
Teacher simply. 

'1 he punishments were frequently se- 
vere, and someiimes absolutely brutal. 
The stick, ihe ruler, and the rawhide 
were used for the most trifling offences, 
and were always viewed as the necessary 
means of presL-rving even the semblance 
of good order. Every boy whi> had li'e 
and "snap" enough in him to elevae him 
above the level of a fool, expected a 
daily whip[)ing is inui-h as he expected 
his supper, and felt leally disappointed (li 
he didn't get it. In niy schooldays t 
was considered sufficient punishment for 
any ordinary misdemeanor, to be set back 
among thi^ large girls — a kind of punish- 
ment that has been aptly styled cdpilal 
punishment, and a kind that the must of 
us felt ai>Ie to endure. 

Upon one point all the records are 
conspicuously silent — the absence <if ail 
intimation that< woman had anything to 
do in the management of our public scnools 
under the old syst'-m. Our forefathers 
had not outgrown the idea that in all the 
practical avocations or life worn m shouid 
be regaided as a subordinite and not as 
an equal. Hence if a m m had a large 
family of children to educ iie, he did the 
best ne could for the boys, and encour- 
aged the girls not to ini-ddle with "book 
larnin." 

But "time makes all things even," and 
if in one generatiini the woman were push- 
ed to the rear, in another they have march- 
ed to the front. That mythical "whi lii;ig 
of time" which tvc hear so much about, 
has bi ought tliem the safest and swei-t- 
est of revenges — a revolution of public 
opinion. The State of N. II. last year 
employed 3823 teachers, of which 3296 
were women. The percentage in their 
favor gains year by year, and the day) is 
apparently not far distant when the last 
teacher of the male persuasion will be 
put on exhibition by some future Barnnm, 
attached to a "great moral show," and 
gazed upon ns the last specimen of a race 
who did as well as could be expected, 
but who were compelled to submit to the 
inexorable logic of events. Surely the 
women of N. H. ought not to complain 
and bother themselves about female suf- 
frage, when they marshal the armies of 



19 



tbe schoolroom, a place more pof.eiit in 
sliapiii<; j)ul)lic opinion than any other 

For otie 1 do not Ti'giet ihv chanj^e nor 
believe the State a loser. '1 he ^taiistios 
ini<ic'ate ;i praciual but t^u'e jirowtii in ihe 
rifiht direction, an incieast d average at- 
ttmlan'e a hijjher tirade of studies, and 
a {rreafcr piiI'Mi' intere~t. Tbo contrast 
in teacher!*, ticiiooi-honses, studies, and 
indeed the whole school machinerv, is so 
jrieat that it seems to ine tlie most persist- 
ent stickler for '"old times" must ackiowl- 
«'(]<(<■ the revohi inn Men sometimes think 
tl ey ari- irav> lling tlie backward road, 
wh' II they have only stood still while the 
wiirM of intelli<rence has moved on 

It is in the highest degree creditable to 
tlie Town, that during the last few years it 
lia-^ expened so much money lor school- 
houses and schools It is creditable that 
it has finished this commodious and beauti- 
ful town hall for t!ie public good. What- 
ever its CGst,you will find it money ■well in- 
vested, for no money is poorly expended 
that increases the facilities for a better ed- 
ucation and assists in elevating the public 
taste. 

It is for you, ladies and gentlemen, to 
profit by' the comparisons drawn and gath- 
er new inspiraiion from the lessons of the 
past. Our school historv, though meagre 
in recorded etents, is rich in treasured re- 
collect inns and personal reminiscences. 
For 250 years tlie Parish and Town have 
been solicitious for the education of tlieir 
children. However primitive the sur- 
roundings, the people never wholly lost 
sight of the common .school, and in the corn- 
pa. i.son that we institute between their 
condition and our own, the advantages that 
modern civilization lavishes upon us must 
not be forgotten. Their struggle under 
adverse circumstances should only nerve 
us to greater exertions and arouse us to 
quicker perceptions of public duty. 

The fuiure of our great country has its 
destinies for good or evil i^ecurely inter- 
woven in tlie late of its common schools. 
Wherever over all its vast expanse of fer- 
tile lands and blooming fields, its secluded 
homes and busy marts of trade, wherever 
the school-house raises its palatial towers 
or humble roof, the future American citi- 
zen is being prepared for the destinies 



that await him. More potent than an 
army with guns and banners is tha'.. army 
of 'iOOCOO teachers that will to-morrow- 
morn ing step over the thresholds of Amer- 
ican sciiool-hous s. They are training the 
Presidents, the Congressmen and Govern- 
ors who in the lifetime of some (jf the 
boys present to-night will make and exe- 
cute the laws for a hundred millions of 
people. State pride if nothing more 
should stimulate to his best energies every 
native of New Hampshire. Altliough 
small in territory, and stubborn in soil, 
yet she has a record of which every citi- 
zen may well be proud. Her noblest sons 
have made the nation famous that iionored 
them. Her best blood has crim.soned every 
American battle-field, whether victory or 
disaster perched upon iier banners. What 
citizen of the Old Oranite State docs not 
feel proud of his illustrati'ius kindred? — 
Of Stark, and Scammell, and Langdon, 
and (jove and Cro.ss and their heroic 
companions? What New Hampshire 
heart dees not beat faster as Daniel Web- 
ster's stinging reply to the Austrian Min- 
ister is read and pondered ? Who can 
lorget the career of such men as Cass. 
Woodbury, Bell, Pierce, Chase, Hale, AVil- 
son, Greeley and others whose names are 
as familiar as household words ? Over- 
riding all political distinctions, and the 
narrow prdjudices of party, we unite as 
one people to do honor to the men who by 
their talents, their integrity, their charac- 
ters and their renown have done infinite 
honor to us. Whenever Patriotism has re- 
quired a sacrifiice, war an offering, or 
Liberty a champion, New Hampshire has 
never faltered. Her sons have been known 
and honored wherever the American Hag 
casts a shadow or covers a deck. In War 
and Peace, in science and adventure, they 
have acted well their part. Tliev have 
shed imperishable renown upon the glori- 
ous old State, and by their example, their 
words, their deeds and every consid- 
eration of patriotism, call upon us one and 
all to nuuntain its honor. It is in part to 
that iiigh and noble puipose that we meet 
to night to consecrate ou"* Hall. May 
we strengthen the tics tliat unite us, the 
sacred duties that bind us, and make the 
Town, the Stale and ourselves better for 
our presence. 



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